DeJuan Blair Says Spurs Would’ve Won NBA Finals if He Played More

New Dallas Mavericks forward DeJuan Blair wasted little time before taking shots at his former employers — Blair thinks if he got on the court, the San Antonio Spurs would be celebrating an NBA title right now. Per the Dallas Morning News (via Project Spurs): “When asked about getting back to the NBA Finals, Blair told NBA.com, ‘Of course I want to get back. I don’t think we’ve [Spurs] would have came up short if I would’ve played but, hey, keep that out there.’ Blair only played four minutes in Game 4 and six minutes in Game 5 of the Finals—both blowouts. This is not the first time Blair has complained about playing time, though, something Coach Rick Carlisle surely won’t tolerate. Carlisle has been known to play stars for limited minutes. In 2010, when asked about pulling Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion, and Jason Terry—all significantly better players than Blair—off the bench, Carlisle responded, ‘I don’t care if guys are happy or unhappy about their minutes,” he said. “When you’re talking about winning at the highest level, individual needs for minutes and touches, if that stuff comes into the equation, then you got guys who aren’t about the right things. We address those issues if they come up, obviously. Anybody who presents themselves with that kind of selfishness isn’t deserving of being in a Mavericks’ uniform. This isn’t going to be about role definition. It’s going to be about role acceptance.’ Blair and the Mavs make their first visit to San Antonio on January 8.”